Tuesday, April 27, 2010

From DDOT, you can check out the streetcars that will be running down H Street within a couple years in DC, May 5-8, at the Old Convention Center site.First Modern Streetcar to Debut in the District

DDOT to Host DC Streetcar Showcase May 5-8First Opportunity for Public to Board One of DC’s Modern Vehicles

District residents, workers and visitors will soon get their first opportunity to step aboard one of the District’s new modern streetcars. The District Department of Transportation (DDOT) will host the DC Streetcar Showcase from Wednesday, May 5 through Saturday, May 8, 2010 at City Center DC, the site of the old convention center.

“We are getting closer and closer to putting streetcars back on the streets of the District, and we know there are a lot of people who are just as excited about their return as we are,” said DDOT Director Gabe Klein. “This will be a great opportunity for them to see a modern streetcar up close, inside and out, and to learn more about how they will operate in the District.”

The District owns three streetcars, which are currently stored at Metro’s rail yard in Greenbelt, Maryland. For the showcase, DDOT will transport one of the vehicles downtown where it will be set on temporary tracks in Lot B of City Center DC. The public will be able to access the lot from the intersection of 9th and H Streets, NW, which is just north of the Gallery Place Metro station on the Green and Yellow lines.

The DC Streetcar Showcase will coincide with several other related events in the District, including:

In the first half of the last century, the District had a robust streetcar network with more than 200 miles of track, but as bus service became more prevalent, the popularity of streetcars declined and the last day of streetcar service in the city was January 28, 1962.

Today, plans are well underway to restore this rich piece of the District’s history. DDOT is developing a 37 mile, 8 line system, and construction on two of the lines has already started. Streetcar service is expected to begin in 2012 on H Street/Benning Road.